The David Temple Case

Primary type of wrongful conviction: Prosecutorial Misconduct 

David Temple was convicted of murdering his pregnant wife with admittedly no evidence. He was prosecuted by Kelly Siegler, a former prosecutor for the state of Texas and current host of Cold Justice. Here's a prosecutor that is so hubristic she admits there is absolutely NO evidence with which to try Temple. She goes on a nationally syndicated program, in front of millions of people and brags about it. To quote her, "There's no DNA evidence, there's no eyewitness, there are no fingerprints, there's no murder weapon, there's no scientific evidence, there's no ballistic evidence—there's nothing."[1]

This is how you wind up with a wrongful conviction and 36 counts of prosecutorial misconduct. The fact that she chose to put a neighbor of Temple's and possibly the actual murderer on the stand as a witness for the prosecution, was her coup de grâce. Even if he wasn't the actual murderer, he was most certainly reasonable doubt. It just goes to show that she was fighting for a win at all costs and nothing remotely related to justice, cold or otherwise.


[1] The Guessing Game, 48 Hours (site the rest of the source)

As a prosecutor, when you violate the Brady rule, you're telling the world that you believed you couldn't have won the case without operating in contempt of court, willfully violating your oath of office, and exhibiting total disregard for the Constitution; otherwise, why would you do it?